


Roses are red

by Liliace



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Oblivious Tony, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 22:51:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9790682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liliace/pseuds/Liliace
Summary: Tony's trying to work, but Rhodey keeps interrupting him with questions about - cards? And flowers?





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just a cute oneshot I felt like writing one day. I imagine Tony & Rhodey younger here, probably not in MIT though bc of their age difference, but anyway it's all up for interpretation.
> 
> (Also I realized I should've posted this on Valentines day. Damnit)

"Tony."

Tony glanced up from his work, only now noticing that Rhodey was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Yes?" Tony asked with lifted eyebrows, but then looked back at the blueprints spread out in front of him.

Rhodey coughed. "Tony," he repeated, this time more strongly, and Tony glanced up distractedly again before looking back down.

"Yes? What is it Rhodey, I swear I'm in the middle of a breakthrough here, you can't distract me right now, seriously I'm so close, I can feel it…" Tony rambled, half of his attention on working out the last numbers and half on Rhodey who sighed.

"Is that a no?" he asked, and Tony frowned distractedly.

"A no to what?" he asked, starting to write down the equation. If he moved that part there, the balance would be better, and it might actually fly…

"To me," Rhodey said bluntly, and Tony hummed a little before realizing what Rhodey had said, and then he stopped and looked up, finally giving Rhodey all of his attention.

"A no to you? You know I could never say no to you, honeybear, unless it's about something like 'go to sleep Tony' or 'you need to finish your homework Tony' or 'you can't talk back to everyone like that Tony'. Because I still remain that those aren't relevant points, so they don't –"

"Tony," Rhodey said again, and that was the third time he had said Tony's name in the past five minutes. The interruption worked regardless, and Tony stopped babbling. "To the card."

"What card?" Tony asked, blinking a little. "Did I get a card? I didn't get a card, not lately, and you can't mean a long time ago because you would've brought it up then, and I didn't get a card now – what card was it anyway?"

Rhodey seemed to be a little flushed, which Tony found very weird. It could've been due to irritation, though.

"The card. With the flowers," Rhodey said bluntly, like he very much expected Tony to know what he was on about. He was very much mistaken about that.

"The flowers? What flowers? You haven't given me any flowers. Have you been giving flowers to someone else? I'm hurt, really, I thought we had something special, you should've told me…" Tony rambled on and on again, frowning a bit at the thought of Rhodey giving around flowers.

"The ones that were in front of our dorm room. This morning," Rhodey said, his tone lifting a little and almost making his statement into a question.

Tony still blinked in confusion. "What about them? I threw them on the bed, figured I'd give them to someone who actually appreciates them. Like you, maybe. I mean, you like flowers? Do you like flowers? I think you maybe do. Have you mentioned it?"

This time, it was Rhodey's turn to look confused. "You thought – you were planning on giving the flowers to me? To give me the flowers I gave you? Tony, that's – I have no words, truly."

"Wait wait wait," Tony backpedaled, raising his hands up and blinking rapidly now. Maybe he should've listened to Rhodey and gotten more than three hours of sleep. "The flowers were from _you_?"

"Yes," Rhodey said emphatically, rolling his eyes a little bit.

"Oh," Tony said dumbly. "That's – wait, why were you getting me flowers? Did I forget something? It's not your birthday right? It's not my birthday? Did something happen? Oh my god Rhodey, did someone die?"

"No one died," Rhodey said, this time rolling his eyes even more. "Did you even read the card?"

"What card?" Tony asked, and Rhodey's sigh made it quite obvious that there had been a card included in that bouquet. "I didn't notice any card. Was it important? I can go read it right now, you wait here and I'll back in a moment, just give me a moment Rhodey…"

"It's not –" Rhodey interrupted himself with a sigh before smiling crookedly. "I could just tell you here. Ask you. Whatever. I just – figured it'd be easier over a card, but the waiting has been killing me. So." Rhodey took a deep breath, released it and then continued. "Would you go out with me? On a date. Out as in a date. The two of us. I'd normally give you a flower right about now, but you ignored the bouquet I got you this morning, so maybe that would've been dumb. God, I was more suave in the card, I swear."

Tony stood there, blinking and gaping like a fish, trying to come to grips with this change in his reality. Rhodey was – asking him out? _Out_ out?

"I – what?" Tony questioned dumbly.

"And they told me you were a genius," Rhodey said exasperatedly. "Me like you. Me want date you. Me ask if you like me too."

"Oh my god, please stop," Tony cried out, holding his hands over his ears. "Seriously, stop that. Yes, yes I'll go out with you, just please stop talking like that."

Rhodey's expression morphed into a grin and he let out a relieved sigh. "Okay. I don't care if you only said yes to make me stop, no taksie-backsies. It's official now."

Tony quirked a grin as well. "I didn't say yes because of that. Well, only because of that. I must admit it was part of the reason. Anyway, good. Can this date wait, though? I'm seriously so close here, soon I'll be able to make this thing fly…"

"Sure," Rhodey nodded fondly. "I'll collect you at eight, then you can sleep, and then we'll go to breakfast together tomorrow. Have fun, Tones."

"Sure, great, bye Rhodey," Tony said, waving distractedly as he turned back to the papers in front of him. If only he could see what was missing here…

Rhodey let out an amused laugh before shaking his head and walking out in search of something to do. His soon-to-be boyfriend would be busy for the whole day.

Some might think that Tony wouldn't be as invested in their relationship as Rhodey. They might even mistake Tony's focus on his work for disinterest in Rhodey.

But Rhodey was the one who opened a physics book a week later and found one of the roses he had gotten Tony pressed between it. He'd tease Tony mercilessly, even more so when he'd find out that Tony used the 'asking you out' card as a bookmark, but he'd love it.

He loved most of what Tony did, to be honest. Even when Tony was being an oblivious genius.

**Author's Note:**

> 'Roses are red,  
> Violets are blue.  
> I'd like to take you to bed,  
> And do naughty things with you.'
> 
> That's what I imagine Rhodey's card says. Mostly bc I find the idea so amusing. (Also Tony's reaction to it would be brilliant.)


End file.
